A new guide to the Larger Moths of New Zealand
Information about an often misunderstood and overlooked creature has undergone a monumental 21st century upgrade, in a move aimed at improving public knowledge and care.
Thursday 03 May 2012
Moth - Declana nivea
Information about an often misunderstood and overlooked creature has undergone a monumental 21st century upgrade, in a move aimed at improving public knowledge and care.
Researcher Robert Hoare says moths are frequently considered drab and uninteresting compared to their butterfly cousins, but the reputation is completely undeserved.
“Moths are far more diverse than butterflies, in their colour, their size, their shape and ornamentation, and in their life histories and behaviour. In New Zealand, only 24 species of butterflies have been recorded, and nearly half of these are migrants or interlopers from overseas. Yet, of the 1700 or more species of moths in this country, nearly 90% are found nowhere else and only a tiny proportion can be regarded as pest species”
But, with so many species of moths and very few specialised entomologists it was very difficult to accurately identify the moths and in many cases information was based on publications from the 1920s and 1930s.
However, the new online guide will change all that, says Dr Hoare. It covers all of the families of moths traditionally termed ‘macro-moths’, i.e. most of the easily noticed species with wingspans over 30 mm and for most of the 451 species covered, a male and a female specimen are shown; clicking on an image brings up an enlargement.
Dr Hoare says moths are diverse creatures, associated with forests, shrublands, tussocklands, wetlands, mountain screes and alpine meadows, coastal dunes and even subantarctic islands.
“Some of these habitats and their moths are under threat from habitat destruction, whilst in lowland areas throughout New Zealand introduced social wasps are having a devastating effect on caterpillar numbers. Possums, pigs and deer in our forests destroy many of the foodplants necessary for the development of particular species, and rats and mice undoubtedly devour many caterpillars and pupae.”
It is hoped that conservation managers, restoration groups, schools, and other individuals and groups with an interest in nature will use the guide and put a name to their finds. With care and patience, anyone should be able to identify almost any larger moth in good condition found in New Zealand by browsing through the image galleries.
Dr Hoare says the gallery will assits in the long term recording of moths in New Zealand to help build up a picture of their distributions so that conservationists can understand which species may be declining and in need of special protection.
The gallery should also aid recognition of new invasive species, which may prove to be pests of native plants or crops, or unwanted competitors with native species. Early detection of such species in New Zealand may be crucial for biosecurity.
The gallery was funded by the Terrestrial and Freshwater Biodiversity Information System (TFBIS) Programme which is administered by the Department of Conservation to help to achieve the goals of the New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy, and is administered by the Department of Conservation.